Frustrations of high school dance team coach

Hello folks,

Guys, I don't know about you, but I find working with teenagers exhausting. Was I really this difficult 6- 8 years ago? I love dance and I love teaching others to dance, but as the season gets more and more busy I find myself struggling to stay sane for the remaining weeks. I've composed a list of just a few of the frustrations I deal with on a daily basis.

Why coaching is aging me:

• Girls being late to practice- if practice starts at 3:30, that doesn't mean show up at 3:30, that means get your butt moving because practice has started.
• Girls skipping practice- I know what twitter is, I saw you tweet about going to the mall. Not cool.
• Parent's lying for their child- who does that? Just admit you're letting your daughter skip practice and stop babying her, we still find out the truth eventually. No your precious angel does not still deserve to perform this weekend because she chose to put her social life ahead of the team. 
• Unexcused absences- We have utilized facebook, email, and our own cell phones. You have zero excuse why you shouldn't be able to get a hold of us and explain why you can't be at practice. Furthermore we have told you at least ten different times that a parent needs to excuse you. This isn't rocket science. 
• Dance groupies- girls who join the team to get the clothes and then quit. I want to punch you. 
• Cell phones- touch your phone one more time at practice. I dare you.
• Hypochondriacs- How can you possibly have so many illnesses/ issues with your body? If something is going to restrict your dancing every single practice, maybe you should look at a different activity.
• My personal life- girls, stay out of it. I'm not your BFF, I'm your coach. What I do on the weekends when I am not working is none of your business. Don't ask me how much I drank or if I had sex with my boyfriend. Those are not appropriate topics.
• Lack of respect- just because I'm not working with you personally at this moment doesn't mean I can't see you in the corner of my eye sitting there doing nothing. Stretch, practice a skill without me, help a girl struggling. I'm not your babysitter.

I don't know about you, but I feel better after getting that off my chest. If anyone else feels the need to rant about something that bugs them please feel free to either email me personally or comment below, I'd love to hear from people :)

ash.blogger.mn@gmail.com

Cheers,

 Ash

Change

Change can be both frightening and exciting. As we grow we constantly change the little details of our lives.

 Four years ago my biggest change was when I went from a dark blonde to bright redhead.

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Two years ago my biggest change was graduating college.

Last year I got a puppy.

This year one of my changes I want to make is how I live a healthy life. So I'm posing a challenge to myself. I can actually thank my co-worker for bullying my to commit to a three month challenge to live a healthier life. I'm not doing anything crazy or outrageous. I'm not going to start a crazy diet. I am not going to become addicted to working out for hours on end. Basically I'm challenging myself to add a healthy routine that just about anyone can fit into their week.

First Objective: Limit the fast food.

This is going to probably be the hardest one for me since I get a craving almost daily for fries or other greasy foods. I'm going to try to cut down to only eating fast food 4x a month, less if I can. This is going to require me to make more lunches when I can't get home for lunch. This also means I'm going to have to limit myself to grabbing a quick meal with friends. This does not include eating out at actual restaurants. Lately if I'm going out to eat somewhere nice it's more than likely going to be sushi or something that is not a normal part of my meal plans. This also only tends to happen if it's date night with Frank. We'll see how this goes!

Second Objective: Stretch 4x/ week for 10 minutes.

Ok so I've been a dancer most of my life and four years ago I use to be very flexible. Now that I'm not as active and I don't stretch regularly my flexibility is suffering- at least from my point of view. Of course my friends point out that I am still far more flexible than they'll ever be, but I miss the old me. I'm going to try and bring her back. Stretching is also amazingly good for you. I don't care what any health study says about stretching before participating in sports, I'm talking about that hour before you go to bed when you're laying around and watching tv. Stretching is relaxing and a great way to quietly focus on any little thoughts you might feel. I use stretching as a form of meditation and I'll never give it up. Stretching also prevents some injuries. The more flexible you are the less likely you'll pull that muscle when you bend down to touch your toes ;) Honestly I'm no medical expert, I just am a firm believer in keeping myself flexible!

Third Objective: 2 hours of actual exercise a week.

I don't know about you guys, but I hate running, I hate lifting, I hate most traditional workouts. They're boring and leave me shaky, gasping for breath. Granted they're good for me, I understand, but my desire is next to nothing when it comes to going to the gym. This part of the challenge will be hard because I'll either have to suck it up and do a traditional workout or I'll have to get creative and look into fitness classes etc. I wish I could find an adult dance class or two that I could afford- that would fit me perfectly. We'll see what I come up with for this part. Right now I'm considering home pilates and some sort of quick cardio. Maybe a muscle sculpting 5 minute workout blast or two. I'm not trying anything crazy remember? I'm trying to stick to a lazy-ish version of living a healthy life that might inspire my fellow lazy people (United we stand!)

Now that I've ranted away for an un-godly amount of time I'll leave you all. I hope everyone has a fantastic rest of the week and if any one wants to share and health related goals with me I'd love to hear! Maybe we can motivate each other?

Ash